Friction clutch assembly

a clutch assembly and friction technology, applied in the field of friction clutches, can solve the problems of inertia of the cover plate becoming a hindrance to racing performance, inertia of the cover plate increasing undesirably, and the event of the cover plate failing, so as to reduce the deflection of the cover plate, improve reliability, and reduce the effect of inertia

US7204356B2Inactive Publication Date: 2007-04-17ACE MFG & PARTS
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Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Patent Type
Patents(United States)
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2007-04-17
Estimated Expiration
Not applicable · inactive patent

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Abstract

A friction clutch assembly comprises a cover mounted on a flywheel of a driving shaft. A pressure plate has a contact surface for receiving a driving force from the driving shaft that is axially moveable between an engaged position and a disengaged position. A spring supported by the cover urges the pressure plate into the engaged position. Compression of the spring releases pressure on the pressure plate to permit movement of the pressure plate to the disengaged position. At least one spacer attached to the cover and flywheel has an external surface that engages the pressure plate upon rotation of the flywheel. The external surface of the spacer conforms to the contact surface of the pressure plate so that torque is transmitted between the flywheel and the pressure plate over at least a line of engagement of the spacer external surface and the pressure plate contact surface upon rotation of the flywheel. The cover may have a continuous curved surface with a varying radius of curvature over a length of the curve to resist deflection and prevent premature failure of the cover.
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Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 727,687, filed Dec. 4, 2003, now abandoned, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to friction clutches, and in particular to a clutch assembly used in high performance vehicles such as racing cars.

[0003] As is well known, vehicle clutches operate to selectively couple and decouple an engine to a drive shaft for the purpose of starting the engine while the vehicle is in gear, bringing the vehicle to a stop while the engine is running, changing gears while the vehicle is in motion and putting the vehicle in motion from a dead stop. Conventional clutches include a cover assembly having an annular cover plate and at least one annular pressure plate connected to the cover plate for conjoint rotation with the cover plate. The cover plate is fixedly attached to a flywheel driv...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0032]Referring now to the drawings, and first to FIGS. 1–3, a friction clutch assembly of the present invention is generally indicated at 1. The friction clutch assembly interconnects a powered, driving shaft A to a driven shaft B. Typically the driving shaft A is an engine crankshaft of an automotive vehicle which is attached to a flywheel F, and the driven shaft is a transmission gearbox input shaft. The driving shaft A and driven shaft B are axially aligned and can be operatively connected through the clutch 1 so that torque is transmitted and the shafts rotate together. A driver of the vehicle uses the clutch 1 to selectively disconnect the shafts A, B, interrupting the transmission of torque, in order to permit a gear shifting operation in the transmission.

[0033]As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the friction clutch assembly 1 includes a cover, generally indicated 11, attached to the flywheel F by conventional fasteners 15 for fixed rotational engagement with the driving shaft A. In th...